Amalie Oil Texas Nationals returning to San Antonio Raceway in 2007

The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) has announced the 2007 eMax Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series schedule.

The IHRA will kick off the season on March 23-25 at San Antonio Raceway with the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals and conclude October 19-21 at Rockingham (North Carolina) Dragway with the World Finals. The race at SAR will mark the fifth straight year that the quarter-mile dragstrip in Marion has hosted this national event.

The IHRA held 11 races in 2006. Next year’s schedule will feature 12 events throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The IHRA will venture into new markets in Tulsa, Okla., and Mansfield, Ohio. Mansfield Motorsports Park will become the new host of the World Nationals on June 15-17, which will keep the event in Ohio and close to the sanctioning body’s headquarters in Norwalk. The new event at Tulsa Raceway Park, the Skull Shine Sooner Nationals, will be held Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27.

“We’ve hosted extremely successful single-day shows in Tulsa, so the market is prime for an IHRA Nitro Jam event,” said IHRA President Aaron Polburn. “The dragstrip being constructed at Mansfield Motorsports Park already contains the infrastructure necessary for our race. The facility has the experience hosting major events with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race and IHRA has such a strong fan and competitor-base in Ohio, we’ll without a doubt pack the place.”